Zest

At Zest we are committed to working alongside the local community to create a thriving, safe and welcoming neighbourhood for people to live, work and grow up.

To deliver on this commitment we are working together to develop a local ‘Netherthorpe & Upperthorpe Together’ action plan, developed with the community, designed to target interventions and resources on neighbourhood improvement.

This includes working with Sheffield City Council, South Yorkshire Police, local community organisations, youth clubs and schools to improve the area we will live.

Plan objectives include:

• Targeting the perpetrators of organised crime.
• Making streets and spaces feel safer and more welcoming.
• Providing voice, reassurance and support to parents, young people at risk of exploitation and other vulnerable residents.
• Raising aspiration including developing positive pathway programmes for young people.
• Creating a greater sense of belonging through awareness raising, cultural celebration, and standing up to all forms of discrimination.

The recent police ‘day of action’ you may have seen reported in the Sheffield Star forms part of the police’s objectives to tackle criminal activity in the area. You can read more about Operation Steel  here.

For our part, Zest is committed to a number of activities between now and April 2026 to shape the Upperthorpe & Netherthorpe Together Action Plan alongside formation of a Together Action Group.

Here’s look at our planned timetable of action over the next few months:

November – December 2025

• Monthly messaging in relation to work taking place to address criminal activity and make the local area safer. This will include SY Police and Council Safety officers attending local groups to raise awareness.
• Identifying and communicating ways to make it easier to report local concerns.
• Undertaking environmental clean-up work to help improve safety and reduce criminal activity.
• Starting a ‘Community Conversation’ with individuals, groups and partners across the community to find out what the key issues are and what interventions local people want to see.
• Identifying what community activity and programmes are already taking place and how they can contribute to the plan.

In the New Year we will be firming up some of the actions taken and ramp up efforts with continued messaging and longer term solutions.

January – March 2026 

• Continued monthly messaging on work taking place to address criminal activity and make the local area safer.
• Summarise findings from the ‘Community Conversation’ alongside other local data.
• Form a local community stakeholder group to shape the Together Plan aims and priority actions.
• Identify resources to fund/ kickstart the key programmes identified.

April 2026 onwards

• Launch and implementation of Upperthorpe & Netherthorpe Together Action Plan & Action Group